Science and Engineering South Consortium (SES-5)

The most powerful cluster of
research intensive universities in the UK are joining forces to form a new
consortium to become one of the world's leading hubs for science and
engineering research.

The Science and Engineering
South Consortium has been initiated to pool the collective insights and
resources of the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge
and Southampton, Imperial College London and
University College London. These world-leading centres for research, the SES-5,
will innovate and explore new ideas through collaboration whilst providing
efficiencies of scale and shared utilisation of facilities to increase the
return on existing and future public investment.

“Our institutions are committed
to the concept that competition between ideas and hypotheses is essential for
the healthy development of excellent and impactful research,” said Professor
David Price, Vice-Provost for Research at UCL. “However, as communities of
scholars, we are also convinced of the value to the UK and beyond of collaboration and
the sharing of insights and resources”.

“The SES-5 will be well-placed
both to compete and to collaborate with other world-class institutions on the
global stage,” said Professor Ian Walmsley, Oxford’s Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research.
“It will also provide a regional hub with the potency and capacity to attract
inward investment. Combining our strengths through collaboration will deliver
global impact” adds Professor Lynn Gladden, Pro Vice- Chancellor for Research
at the University
of Cambridge.

Our institutions are committed to the concept that competition between ideas and hypotheses is essential for the healthy development of excellent and impactful research,

Professor David Price, UCL Vice-Provost (Research)

Collectively, the SES-5
represent the most powerful cluster of research intensive universities in the
world with a combined annual research spend of more than £1.3 billion and more
than 170 Nobel Laureates amongst former and current staff and alumni.

The SES-5 also hold more than
1,400 Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC) awards worth £1
billion, representing more than a quarter of all EPSRC projects by number and
30% by amount of the entire national commitment in this area. Similarly, the
group’s Science and Technology Facilities Council portfolio is worth roughly
£150 million, representing a third of the national commitment.

Together, the SES-5 will explore
how their shared infrastructure and training can be used to stimulate further
international, national and regional synergy whilst further engagement with
industry will be sought to promote economic growth. The group will also share
major facilities for research in the physical sciences, bio-sciences, and engineering.
Projects are already underway that involve sharing facilities for High Performance
Computing.

The universities will also
engage in the strategic planning of new infrastructure investment for science
and engineering research and explore the potential for collaboration with
centres of research excellence elsewhere around the world.

The SES-5 partners believe that
by enhancing their excellence and infrastructure together, the group will
strengthen the UK’s
international competitiveness in research.

“It is vital that we maintain
our pre-eminence in research and careful planning of our infrastructure is
essential if we are to maintain a leading international position” said Donal
Bradley, Pro-Rector for Research at Imperial
College.

“We have just started on this
collaborative project” said Professor Philip Nelson, Southampton’s
Pro Vice-Chancellor “although we already have in place collaborative grants
that have a value in excess of £150m. We are delighted to formalise links with
the UK
institutions with whom we already collaborate most in science and engineering
research.”